Hiring an SEO specialist doesn’t have to be difficult, provided you know what to look for. There are many individuals and companies out there who call themselves experts, but are they really? If you want every dollar you spend on internet marketing to count, then you need to make sure you work with a reliable SEO specialist that can get the job done right the first time. You may even wind up working with your SEO specialist long term as you grow your website and increase your online marketing efforts, so choosing someone you are comfortable with is very important.

Timely Responses

How long did it take for your potential SEO specialist to respond to you? Did they follow any guidelines noted on their website when you submitted an inquiry? Most SEO specialists will maintain a website, some of which include a quote request form or contact form that allow potential clients to get in touch with the professional. Many will include a note about the expected response time. They should adhere to this when responding to your inquiry. If they don’t, this could be a sure sign that you should look elsewhere. While the professional will have many things to do and may require some time to respond, they should never completely ignore an inquiry for days on end.

Clear, Friendly Communication

How does the SEO specialist respond to you when they do send a message or make a phone call? They should be courteous, friendly and easy to talk to. Communication will be a key component when optimizing your website or blog with a professional. If you feel uncomfortable talking with them from the start, this may turn into serious problems and a negative experience later. The SEO specialist should elcome questions and inquiries and provide clear, easy to understand responses. If you can’t understand one another, then it may be nearly impossible to get things done.

Obvious Knowledge of SEO

Perhaps this goes without saying, but your SEO specialist should have an in depth understanding of search engine optimization. This may be hard to determine if you do not have extensive SEO experience (and understandably you won’t because that is why you are hiring them in the first place). What you can look for is how comfortable they seem when discussing what they do. Do you get the feeling that the information comes easily to your SEO specialist? Of course some people can fake knowledge well so this should only be one of many things considered before hiring an SEO specialist.

Access to a Portfolio or Work Examples

If the SEO specialist hasn’t provided one already, ask them about a portfolio or examples of their previous work with other clients. They should be able to send along URLs to websites or blogs that they worked on. A new SEO specialist may not have as many items in their portfolio, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t offer good service. Remember to review at least a few of the specific examples to check for quality rather than only looking for quantity.